Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary
“The secret of finding the sacred in ordinary life is not in applying moralisms and ideologies to current affairs but in grasping the inherent profundity and indeed spirituality of every situation.”
–Thomas Moore (American Psychotherapist and Writer)
“The Soul’s Religion: Cultivating A Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life” (Thomas Moore)
Total Awareness
“Life is all one, and you should be conscious at every moment of what you are doing, for when you make a gesture it is never in isolation; whether inwardly or outwardly, everything has repercussions. This is why it is also important for you to learn how to greet each other. You spot someone you know, a friend… Even if all you do is hail them from a distance, do so consciously, so that you transmit life to them through your hand as currents of energy and rays of color.
The most powerful and beneficial exchanges are not necessarily the ones you make when you come physically close. You can put a lot of love and light into a hand gesture and the look in your eyes as you make it. So, let your soul take part in your greeting, and your spirit too, so that each person you greet can feel that what they receive is reaching within and improving them. It is so important to have harmonious psychic contact with one another before we meet on the physical level to talk or to work!”
–Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (Bulgarian Spiritual Master, 1900-1986)
{There is a valuable service available from www.Prosveta.com. They send out daily meditations from the works of Master Aïvanhov. I recommend them highly}
What Takes Your Breath Away
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
–Maya Angelou (African-American Poet, Writer and Performer, 1928-)
Participation in God’s Being
“We are so identified with our thoughts that we don’t notice the river they are floating upon. That river, which is not apparent in everyday consciousness, is our participation in God’s being. As we learn to be silent, and spaces appear between thoughts, the river becomes visible.”
–Joan Borysenko (American Psychologist, Writer, Mystic and Speaker)
“7 Paths to God: The Ways of the Mystic” (Joan Z. Borysenko)
Awareness and Simplicity
“And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles.
Rather, look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.
You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.”
–Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese Poet and Philosopher, 1883-1931)
Awareness
Not much point in doing anything unless YOU are actually present!
“Of course it is of no use to direct our steps to the woods, if they do not carry us thither. I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit…. What business have I in the woods, if I am thinking of something out of the woods?”
–Henry David Thoreau (American Essayist and Philosopher, 1817-1862)
Evolution By Opening Your Heart and Mind
“Evolving is about being able to enlarge the sphere of your concerns and activities with each day that comes. But what do we find? Humans are concerned above all with their personal interests and slightly with those of their family and their country, all of which leads to so many misunderstandings.
Many people will say there is no greater ideal than to work for one’s country. This is not so, because their country does not represent the whole. If everyone set to work solely for their country, it would inevitably lead to conflicts with other countries. When you concentrate exclusively on a part of the whole, you necessarily enter into conflict with other parts of the whole. World peace would require people to see things from the broadest, most universal perspective.
In order to evolve, you have to continually expand your point of view, open your heart to an increasing number of creatures and use all your will to make the universal family a reality.”
–Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (Bulgarian Spiritual Master, 1900-1986)
Traditions
“Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can’t even describe and aren’t even aware of.”
–Ellen Goodman (American Newspaper Columnist, 1941-)
The Ultimate Realm
“If you touch the phenomenal realm deeply, you touch the ultimate realm which is the realm of no birth and no death. The ultimate is nirvana, it is God, and it is available to us twenty-four hours a day.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, 1926-)
“Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers” (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Self-Awareness and Compassion
“We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion, to do as much as we can. Then, whatever happens we will have no regrets.”
–The 14th Dalai Lama (a.k.a. Tenzin Gyatso, Tibetan Religious and Political Leader, 1935-)
